Crews to leave Puerto Rico as $750M Fluor contract nears end

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Crews who are helping restore power in Puerto Rico as part of a $750 million federal contract will leave the U.S. territory soon as nearly a quarter of a million customers remain in the dark more than five months after Hurricane Maria, officials said Wednesday.

Brian Mershon, a spokesman for Texas-based Fluor Corporation, told The Associated Press the contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is ending in part because no further funding is available. He said that after Feb. 25, some 1,600 workers and 1,300 pieces of equipment will remain in Puerto Rico, compared with a peak of 3,000 workers and 2,000 pieces of equipment.

"Crews who will remain in the U.S. territory for upcoming weeks will continue to restore power and complete assignments based on available funding and materials," he said. "This is a normal part of the life cycle of large government projects."

Fluor recently said it has helped restore power to more than 230,000 customers.

Preston Chasteen, a spokesman for the Corps of Engineers, told the AP that the agency and all its contractors still have a total of more than 3,600 workers in Puerto Rico to help restore power after the hurricane hit on Sept. 20. The Category 4 storm damaged two-thirds of the island's power distribution system and caused the longest blackout in U.S. history.

Source: Yahoo News